


A King and his Redemption

by Flying_Raven



Series: Eret and his Path to Redemption [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Eret Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Eret Needs A Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Eret Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), Eret is sick and pushes himself, Eret-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, He/Him Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Kinda, Light Angst, Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Not Beta Read, Start of the redemption that Eret deserved, Wilbur is kinda mean but he's stressed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29071347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flying_Raven/pseuds/Flying_Raven
Summary: A dethroned and sick Eret joins the Pogtopia rebellion, desperate for redemption. Wearily, they allow him to join. This is the story of the start of the redemption Eret really just deserved.
Relationships: Eret & Floris | Fundy, Eret & Niki | Nihachu, Eret & Toby Smith | Tubbo, No Romantic Relationships - Relationship
Series: Eret and his Path to Redemption [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182158
Comments: 5
Kudos: 195





	A King and his Redemption

**Author's Note:**

> This story could be read as a prequal to "Revenge From the Eyes of a King." But can be read as a standalone story as well! As usual, apologies for possible wonky grammar as english is not my native language.

It was cold, so incredibly cold. Thick flakes of snow howled around him. Winter had set in hard in the smp and Eret was feeling it. His clothing was tattered from the arrows that had been shot at him. Their crown was no more. The castle that had been his home now fell under the hands of George. He quite literally had nothing. It was for this reason Eret found himself heading in the direction Niki had given him. He knew Niki had taken a huge risk by giving her the location of Pogtopia, so he was determined to make this work. 

The months after his betrayal of L’Manburg had been weighing heavily on him. If he’d allow himself to be honest, he hadn’t slept properly since. As a king he’d tried to do good, to make things better. But even that had clearly failed, as now a tyrant was in charge instead of him. He swallowed uncomfortably, his throat feeling raw. Walking though the snow without any good protection probably wasn’t very good for his health. It probably didn’t help that his harm had been hit by an arrow and was still bleeding. After what felt like hours of walking a few houses started coming into view. They were little more than shacks surrounding a great ravine. A few people were walking around, maybe guarding the border? Sighing and running a hand though his hair, Eret decided to approach, hands raised in surrender.  
  


It was Niki who saw the figure approach. Hunched over with their hands raised in surrender, she barely recognised them. The snowstorm didn’t help. But as the figure approached their features started to become more recognisable. It was Eret. She supposed he’d picked the perfect moment to come here, seeing as both Tommy and Wilbur were out on a supply run. She lowered her sword and waved him over, seeing him pick up his pace when he recognised her. As Eret approached further she started getting concerned. His clothing was ruined and his arm seemed to be bleeding. He also wasn’t wearing his crown.

“Eret! Come here! Quickly! What are you doing here? Weren’t you in your castle? What happened? Are you okay?” she rattled off, quickly grabbing him and dragging him closer. Up close he looked even worse. His sunglasses were crooked, revealing the shadow of bags under his eyes and his whole face was red from the cold. The wound on his arm was bleeding quite heavily.

“Dream-” Eret was forced to pause and cough before continuing. “-Dream fucking dethroned me. Said I couldn’t pick a side and that I was only a figurehead.” He coughed again, was he getting sick? “He can go to hell. I was on the wrong side once, I’m not doing that again.” he finished. 

Niki pinched the bridge of her nose before replying. 

“You’re lucky. Tommy and Wilbur are out right now so it’s safe for you to come in here. I’m taking you to the doctor first thing. That wound looks bad.” she said. Eret just nodded, not having the energy to properly argue with her. “Tubbo’s our doctor right now.” she said, gently grabbing Eret by the arm that wasn't wounded and leading him down to the building that was their medical centre. She knocked on the door, before shouting “TUBBO? ARE YOU THERE?” 

“YEAH! WHAT’S UP?” Someone answered. Niki opened the door and led Eret inside.

“I have someone for you. Explanation later.” She said, practically pushing Eret onto one of the beds in the room. Tubbo’s face lit up for a split second when he saw Eret, but it immediately fell when he saw the state that Eret was in. 

“Your arm! Jesus Eret, what happened?!” He asked, quickly walking over and inspecting the wound. It was quite deep, and still bleeding a little. “That’s gonna need stitches.” He said.

“Arrows. Let’s-” He coughed harshly again. “-Let’s just say that I’m no longer king and I’m here to help. Also, I might be getting sick.” He added the last part as an afterthought. Tubbo nodded silently, grabbing the supplies needed to stitch the wound.

“This is gonna suck Eret, I’m sorry.” He said. Niki got up.  
“I’m heading back outside. Wilbur and Tommy should return any minute and I need to tell them about Eret being here if we want to avoid a massive problem.” She said, turning to Eret and looking at him. “I can’t guarantee you can stay here Eret. I’ll vouch for you, but you know Tommy and Wilbur still have a problem with you.” She said. Eret nodded.

“I understand. Thank you.” He said, before leaning against the wall and turning his head away from the wound which Tubbo started stitching. 

  
The pain of the stitching was joined by yelling from outside, causing Tubbo to almost misplace a stitch. Eret flinched as the door to the medical centre smacked open, revealing an angry Tommy and Wilbur. Wilbur was about to start shouting at Eret when he paused for a second at the state he was in. The clothes Eret was wearing were torn. His once beautiful cape reduced to barely a scrap of fabric on his back. His arm was currently being stitched by Tubbo (who looked slightly annoyed at the interruption) his face was pale, with the exception of his cheeks and nose. 

“Why are you here.” Wilbur snapped. Eret swallowed uncomfortably, both from his throat being sore and feeling intimidated.

“As of a few hours ago I am no longer king. Dream dethroned me and put George in charge. I’m here to try and fix the mistake I made in the past. If you’d let me.” he said. Tommy scoffed.

“Yeah sure. Why the hell would we trust you again? For all we know you’ll turn around and stab us as soon as it benefits you again.” he spat out. Eret raised an eyebrow and gestured at himself.

“Look at me. If you wanted to you could kill me right now and I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I’m not asking for your forgiveness, I’m asking you give me one more chance to prove myself.” he said.

Wilbur rubbed his temples.

“You’re lucky both Fundy and Niki vouched for you. That and the fact that I’m not so inhumane as to kick you out when you look like a wounded animal. You can stay if you prove yourself useful. If you don’t you’ll be lucky to escape with your life.” he said coldly. “You’re staying with Niki.” Wilbur finished, dragging Tommy out of the medical centre before he could protest (although the protests from him were heard from outside). Eret leaned back again, letting out another cough he’d been holding back. Tubbo frowned, tying off the last stitch and bandaging the newly closed wound.

“Eret, no offense dude, but you sound like shit.” he said. Eret nodded vaguely.

“Feel like it.” he said. Tubbo nodded empathically. 

“Let me show you to Niki’s place. Most of us are staying in the ravine because it’s easier to keep warm. You’ll need to come by me again tomorrow to change the bandages. Let’s go.” Tubbo said. Since when was he this mature? Eret didn’t know, and exhaustion made it hard to care. 

They walked down to the ravine, being interrupted by someone (probably Tommy) throwing a snowball at Eret and nearly knocking off his sunglasses. Niki’s house was down in the ravine, a small place dug out next to a potato farm. Tubbo left when he arrived at the house, handing Eret over to Niki. She’d set up a bed for him and even handed him a clean shirt which looked like it could somewhat fit him. 

“Get some sleep Eret.” she said. Eret nodded, not fighting it and immediately falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

***

He woke up feeling like he was hit by a truck. His throat felt even dryer than before and his head was hurting. And yet he got up, quickly grabbing his sunglasses and putting them over his eyes, hoping no one would notice the way his eyes glowed less brightly than normal. He noticed the pile of new clothing Niki had left out for him, with a note saying “ _Hi Eret. Managed to get these from Tubbo (who found them in Wilbur’s old clothes). They should mostly fit you. You’re welcome!_ ” it was a blue sweater and some black pants. He didn’t have a coat, but he’d have to go without. He walked out of Niki’s house, heading back up to the medical centre. It was empty however, so Eret was left standing in confusion. His mind wasn’t as clear as he wanted to be. He stood there for a few minutes before he was tapped on the shoulder by Fundy, making him jump.

“Woah! Didn’t mean to scare you! Are you looking for Tubbo?” Fundy asked. Eret nodded.

“Yeah, he’s not here though.” he said, his voice sounding a lot more raspy than expected which caught him off guard. It must have surprised Fundy as well, as he frowned before he continued talking.

“He’s in the food house. You should probably come over there anyway to grab some food.” he suggested. 

“Don’t know where that is though.” Eret said, running his hand though his hair and shivering. Fundy laughed.

“Come with me, I’ll show you.” 

They walked over to the kitchen/food house. It seemed pretty decently built, Fundy told Eret it was made by Niki. Inside it was surprisingly cozy and warm. ~~The way the sudden change in temperature made him sneeze was mercifully ignored by Fundy~~. Eret was waved at by Niki and Tubbo, who were sitting at a smaller table in the corner of the room. At one of the other tables he could see Wilbur eating while looking at a map. He grabbed some food (potatoes and bread) and joined them.

“Morning Eret! How’s your arm?” Tubbo asked. Eret moved it experimentally. It hurt, but it was functional. 

“It’s working.” he said, clearing his throat and taking a gulp of water. 

“That’s good. I’ll help change the bandages after we finish eating.” Tubbo answered. The conversations went on, Eret mostly staying silent as to both save his throat and to try and fade into the background, as Wilbur had noticed them and was clearly side eyeing him. He lowered his voice, turning to Fundy.

“When I’m done at Tubbo’s, is there anything I can help you with?” he asked. Fundy thought for a second, before nodding. 

“Even though it’s not the best season, I’m going out to hunt in a bit.” he paused for a second, frowning as he looked at the slightly awkward way Eret was keeping his arm at his side. “I’m not sure it would be the best thing though, considering your arm and the state of your… general health.” he finished. Eret immediately shook his head.

“I’ll be fine. I need to be useful.” he said, looking over at Wilbur slightly nervously. Tubbo scoffed slightly.

“Eret you don’t even have a proper coat.” he said. Eret looked down at his torso, the realisation catching him off guard. His confusion made Niki chuckle. 

“I think I might have an extra one. Again though, you don’t have to. You’re not in the best health.” Fundy said again. But Eret didn’t listen. Even though he would much rather stay in bed or rest in general.

Fundy did in fact have a spare coat. It didn’t exactly fit, and was a bit threadbare. But a coat is a coat. Tubbo helped change the bandages and checked on the wound on his shoulder. It was healing, though Tubbo told him to be careful and to not put too much strain on it when shooting. Fundy gave him a bow and some arrows (Tommy didn’t like that). Eret was glad he could at least try to be useful. He hated feeling like a charity case. And so he and Fundy went out. 

“How has it been Fundy? The rebellion?” Eret asked softly. It took a while for Fundy to respond.

“It’s been… a challenge. Wilbur’s not doing well. I think the pressure is really getting to him. Especially now that winter has set in so hard.” he answered. The unspoken things hung in the air as well. They stayed mostly quiet through the rest of the hunt, the silence only occasionally broken by Eret coughing or clearing his throat. 

They managed to catch multiple snow rabbits. It was around 3 pm when they returned to Pogtopia. Eret’s shoulder had started to become really sore again (ignoring the fact that he was still definitely sick). They delivered the food to the kitchen, where Niki was very happy with them. He even got a curt nod and a “Don’t ruin your arm.” from Wilbur (which supprised him a lot). Although he did get a snowball directly to the face from Tommy, which knocked off his sunglasses and scared the shit out of Tommy. Eret also handed the location of a stash of weapons hidden close to his castle to Willbur. He was about to head outside again when Tubbo caught his attention and waved him over.

“Eret! Want to help in the medical centre? I need help organising stuff.” he said. Eret raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question it. As soon as the door to the blessedly warm medical centre closed Tubbo smiled and pointed at one of the beds. “And now you can lay down and take a nap.” he said. Eret frowned, and started to protest, already thinking of comebacks about being older. But Tubbo cut him off. “I know what Wilbur said to you, and I know you want to prove yourself. But as your friend I’m not letting you kill yourself over this. Sleep. I’ll keep an eye out.” he said, sternly looking at Eret. Eret sighed.

“You know, I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be the responsible adult here.” he said, slightly wryly. He listened to Tubbo anyway, laying down and closing his eyes.

He knew that the wounds he had caused wouldn’t heal easily. He could see it in the way Tubbo would still look at him with caution on occasion. He could feel it in the burning looks Tommy and Wilbur gave him. Even in the way Fundy would occasionally whisper to Wilbur. But the wounds he had caused would one day scar over, and he would stand next to Tommy and Tubbo during their biggest conflict. But that was in the future. And that wasn’t right now.


End file.
